Hawaii general
Maui: Garden of Eden botanical garden The island is small enough that you can explore and see everything in a day, so take time to see what you like. There's a bunch of good restaurants I would recommend but one that sticks out is this little shack that serves you the food on paper plates They have town parties on Fridays, I think the one today is in Wailuku, the website is http://mauifridays.com Rodeos in Makawao, good fun except they don't serve beer anymore. You should make a point of dining at a place that serves Maui cattle company beef, like Makawao Steakhouse or Paia Fish Market. You should definitely go to Hana, check out Red Sands beach, my favorite beach on the island. Don't go back the way you came, continue all the way around, it's a cool road and if you make it through before about 4pm you can stop at Kaupo store. Bring food and fill up the tank though; there is nothing out there for miles and miles. If you are around on a Sunday, head for Big Beach and walk all the way to the North side of the beach and over the rocks to Little Beach, the nude beach. On Sundays they have a drum circle and firedancers and stuff, nice to wach naked women throwing fire around to the drum beat. Crazy views on Haleakala side. Restaurant called 'Aloha Mixed Plate' near the cannery mall. Good hawaiian food and a good place to get a feel for the cuisine here. 'Hawaiian' food is really a blend of the foods eaten by the indentured workers brought here to tend the sugar cane fields. Strictly traditional hawaiian food is actually quite rare, consisting mostly of food wrapped in ti leaves and steamed overnight in an imu (underground oven). If you have a car and want to see some beautiful views on the west side, I would suggest you drive toward Kahana and Napili (if you are on the road looking directly at the train depot, head to your left). Try to take the roads which are closest to the ocean, the lower Honoapili road will take you all the way to Kapalua. When you get near Kapalua area, there is a great little plate lunch place called the Honolua store, lots of good local food. Continuing to the northwest in this area, you will find less and less habitation until you are on a tiny one lane road which goes around the west side with many interesting stops along the way. You will eventually find yourself passing through Kahakuloa, a tiny little old Hawaiian village which is virtually unchanged, as the locals there have a pact to sell their land only to each other. Continuing along this road, there are other interesting sights to see. Pick up a book called 'Maui Revealed' if you want details, but dont let any locals see you with this book, as it has exposed some secret spots which have since been overrun with tourists, and the locals hate it. As you approach Wailuku, you will see signs which will take you to Iao Valley, which is a great place to stop. You will see many feral cats in the parking lot, and there is a lovely little area with many native Hawaiian flora and a good bit of old Hawaiian history as well. Leaving Iao, you will now be in Wailuku (do not stop in Happy Valley, it's a bit rough). From here you have the choice to go down to the central part of the isle or head through Maalaea and back toward Lahaina.